DAMASCUS(National Times)- French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Damascus on Monday for the first visit by a Western European head of state since Syria’s new authorities took power in 2024.

Macron, who will depart on Tuesday, will advocate for “a free, pluralist Syria that respects each of its components” and plays a role in moderating Middle East tensions, the French presidency told journalists ahead of the visit. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani welcomed Macron upon arrival, according to a journalist.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa has been rebooting Syria’s international credentials and seeking to revive his struggling country after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The last French president to visit the country was Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, before Assad brutally crushed pro-democracy protests in 2011, sparking a conflict that killed more than half a million people and devastated Syria’s infrastructure and industry.

A deadly bombing at a Damascus cafe last week was the latest security challenge for the new Islamist authorities who are trying to reunify the country after more than 13 years of civil war. Syrian state news agency SANA described the visit Monday as “a pivotal step in the process of restoring Syria’s international presence”.

“We hope this visit will represent a new start for Syria,” said Faisal Azouz, 76, a retired teacher, noting that it could “open new prospects for economic, cultural and political relations” between the countries.

‘Safe and stable’

Dressmaker Diala Akkashe, 33, saw the visit as a vote of confidence. “If Syria wasn’t safe and stable, no president or foreign official would take the risk of coming,” she said.

In May 2025, Macron hosted Sharaa on his first official visit to a European country, a move that preceded the Syrian leader’s trip to Washington last year to meet US President Donald Trump.